Metamorphoses

Ovid

Ovid. Metamorphoses. More, Brookes, translator. Boston: Cornhill Publishing Co., 1922.

  1. Narcissus' fate, when known throughout the land
  2. and cities of Achaia, added fame
  3. deserved, to blind Tiresias,—mighty seer.
  4. Yet Pentheus, bold despiser of the Gods,
  5. son of Echion, scoffed at all his praise,
  6. and, sole of man deriding the great seer,
  7. upbraided him his hapless loss of sight.
  8. And shaking his white temples, hoar with age.
  9. Tiresias of Pentheus prophesied,
  10. “Oh glad the day to thee, if, light denied,
  11. thine eyes, most fortunate, should not behold
  12. the Bacchanalian rites! The day will come,
  13. and soon the light will dawn, when Bacchus, born
  14. of Semele, shall make his advent known—
  15. all hail the new god Bacchus! Either thou
  16. must build a temple to this Deity,
  17. or shalt be torn asunder; thy remains,
  18. throughout the forest scattered, will pollute
  19. the wood with sanguinary streams; and thy
  20. life-blood bespatter with corrupting blots
  21. thy frenzied mother and her sisters twain.
  22. And all shall come to pass, as I have told,
  23. because thou wilt not honour the New God.
  24. And thou shalt wail and marvel at the sight
  25. of blind Tiresias, though veiled in night.”
  26. And as he spoke, lo, Pentheus drove the seer:
  27. but all his words, prophetic, were fulfilled,
  28. and confirmation followed in his steps.—
  29. Bacchus at once appears, and all the fields
  30. resound with shouts of everybody there.—
  31. men, brides and matrons, and a howling rout—
  32. nobles and commons and the most refined—
  33. a motley multitude—resistless borne
  34. to join those rites of Bacchus, there begun.
  35. Then Pentheus cries; “What madness, O ye brave
  36. descendants of the Dragon! Sons of Mars!
  37. What frenzy has confounded you? Can sounds
  38. of clanging brass prevail; and pipes and horns,
  39. and magical delusions, drunkenness,
  40. and yelling women, and obscene displays,
  41. and hollow drums, overcome you, whom the sword,
  42. nor troops of war, nor trumpet could affright?
  43. “How shall I wonder at these ancient men,
  44. who, crossing boundless seas from distant Tyre,
  45. hither transferred their exiled Household Gods,
  46. and founded a new Tyre; but now are shorn,
  47. and even as captives would be led away
  48. without appeal to Mars? And, O young men,
  49. of active prime whose vigor equals mine!
  50. Cast down your ivy scepters; take up arms;
  51. put on your helmets; strip your brows of leaves;
  52. be mindful of the mighty stock you are,
  53. and let your souls be animated with
  54. the spirit of that dauntless dragon, which,
  55. unaided, slew so many, and at last
  56. died to defend his fountain and his lake.—
  57. so ye may conquer in the hope of fame.
  58. “He gave the brave to death, but with your arms
  59. ye shall expel the worthless, and enhance
  60. the glory of your land. If Fate decree
  61. the fall of Thebes, Oh, let the engines
  62. of war and men pull down its walls, and let
  63. the clash of steel and roaring flames resound.
  64. Thus, blameless in great misery, our woes
  65. would be the theme of lamentations, known
  66. to story; and our tears would shame us not.
  67. “But now an unarmed boy will conquer Thebes:
  68. a lad whom neither weapons, wars nor steeds
  69. delight; whose ringlets reek with myrrh; adorned
  70. with chaplets, purple and embroidered robes
  71. of interwoven gold. Make way for me!
  72. And I will soon compel him to confess
  73. his father is assumed and all his rites
  74. are frauds.
  75. “If in days gone Acrisius
  76. so held this vain god in deserved contempt,
  77. and shut the Argive gates against his face,
  78. why, therefore, should not Pentheus close the gates
  79. of Thebes, with equal courage—Hence! Away!
  80. Fetch the vile leader of these rioters
  81. in chains! Let not my mandate be delayed.”
  82. Him to restrain his grandsire, Cadmus, strove;
  83. and Athamas, and many of his trusted friends
  84. united in vain efforts to rebuke
  85. his reckless rage; but greater violence
  86. was gained from every admonition.—
  87. his rage increased the more it was restrained,
  88. and injury resulted from his friends.
  89. So have I seen a stream in open course,
  90. run gently on its way with pleasant noise,
  91. but whensoever logs and rocks detained,
  92. it foamed, with violence increased, against
  93. obstruction.
  94. Presently returning came
  95. his servants stained with blood, to whom he said,
  96. “What have ye done with Bacchus?” And to him
  97. they made reply; “Not Bacchus have we seen,
  98. but we have taken his attendant lad,
  99. the chosen servant of his sacred rites.”
  100. And they delivered to the noble king,
  101. a youth whose hands were lashed behind his back.
  102. Then Pentheus, terrible in anger, turned
  103. his awful gaze upon the lad, and though
  104. he scarce deferred his doom, addressed him thus;
  105. “Doomed to destruction, thou art soon to give
  106. example to my people by thy death:
  107. tell me thy name; what are thy parents called;
  108. where is thy land; and wherefore art thou found
  109. attendant on these Bacchanalian rites.”